Police appeal 12 years after crash killed man (35)

Hannah Ramsden

Police are appealing for help to solve the mystery of the death of an Oswaldtwistle man who was killed in a crash 12 years ago.

On Saturday, January 18th, 2004 Shaun Metcalfe (35) had been out drinking with a friend at the Hare and Hound Public House in Blackburn Road. He left the pub with his friend around 3am to begin the journey home to Ruskin Avenue. He then went to cross Blackburn Road but what exactly happened to Mr Metcalfe remains unclear and it is thought that a driver is likely to be able to assist us with our enquiries.

PC Mark Royle-Evatt, who worked on the original investigation, said: “We know that Shaun died as a result of a collision but what we don’t know is whether he was already laid or crouched on the road before he was hit. If that was the case, it may be that the driver didn’t see him and has hit him completely by accident.

“I am asking the driver to search their conscience and come forward. This isn’t about blame, it’s about finding out what happened for Shaun’s family who have been suffering with their loss for over a decade now. They just want to know exactly what happened to him, information that that they deserve.

“This case is still open and despite the passage of time we remain committed to getting answers for Mr Metcalfe’s family and friends so that they can try and start to move on with their lives.”

Shaun’s family have made their own emotional plea.

Mark Metcalfe, Shaun’s brother, added: “We as the family of Shaun would ask the driver of the vehicle involved in Shaun's accident to come forward to the police, giving us an accurate account of the events that night from your point of view as we have no clue ourselves.

"We need you to put yourself in our position and imagine how you and your family would feel having to go through what we have.

"He was a loving and caring son, brother and uncle whose death has left a void in family life for us.

"We really do need to be able to visit his grave and finally say to him that we now know exactly what the events of that night were, giving us some kind of closure after all these years. Once again the family are pleading with you to do the right thing by us and come forward.

"His nephews and nieces are still particularly upset by his death because of the amount of time they spent with him, especially at weekends.

"His oldest nephew Anthony lost a very close fishing buddy and has not been fishing since the accident because it is not the same anymore without his uncle."

If you believe that you could have been the driver we are looking for or you have any information about it at all, please call us on 101 quoting accident reference number EL0400035.